Burnham's spanner in the works leaves UK government tech scattered across Whitehall
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham eliminated the dedicated technology minister role and redistributed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's responsibilities across the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. An AI minister position was created, filled by Kanishka Narayan, who will work jointly with the Cabinet Office and BIST and attend Cabinet meetings. The restructuring has raised concerns about fragmented digital transformation, procurement, and policy coordination within the government.
- ▪The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology was split and its duties reassigned to three separate departments, removing the previous technology minister role.
- ▪A new AI minister role was established, with Kanishka Narayan appointed to collaborate with the Cabinet Office and BIST and sit in Cabinet.
- ▪The Government Digital Service and the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence have moved from the Cabinet Office to DSIT and now to DCMS, creating potential continuity challenges.
- ▪Officials warn that the fragmented arrangement may hinder the government's ability to achieve its £45 billion efficiency target through automation and AI.
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| Original publisher | The Register |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/07/29/burnhams-spanner-in-the-works-leaves-uk-government-tech-scattered-across-whitehall/5279437 |
| Publication time | Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:30:00 +0200 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-29T08:30:58.852Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-29T08:30:58.852Z |
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| Cluster | 77GuAYRDlYgG · 1 stories |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
(function() { let windowUrl = window.location.href; windowUrl = windowUrl.substring(windowUrl.indexOf('?') + 1); let messageElement = document.querySelector('.shareableMessage'); if (windowUrl && windowUrl.includes('code') && windowUrl.includes('expires')) { messageElement.style.display = 'block'; } })(); PUBLIC SECTOR Burnham's spanner in the works leaves UK government tech scattered across Whitehall Splitting up responsibility for digital transformation and procurement while AI gets a seat at Cabinet risks incoherency Lindsay Clark Lindsay Clark BUSINESS SOFTWARE AND DATABASE REPORTER Published wed 29 Jul 2026 // 09:30 UTC OPINION A week after becoming the UK's seventh Prime Minister in ten years, Andy Burnham has made some good headlines, but, among the promises to cap bus fares and…
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